Allies
by Shelbie's Whatchamacallit
Summary: A very brief conversation between Hilde and my OC. In a bathtub. But not naughty, sorry folks. T just because they're nude. One-Shot


**Allies**

_Author's Note: Hello readers. This is just a quick one-shot featuring Hilde and my OC, both native to Soul Calibur. Brynja (Or Bryn) is a character who has gone through dozens of changes since I first created her in SC III, but has since settled on being a Norse/Scandinavian warrior descended from a long line of Viking warriors. In my mind, she carries a Viking-like broadsword and a buckler shield, and has basically been Siegfried's stubborn tag-along since she was nineteen; she would now be thirty-six. This takes place in Soul Calibur V, and was originally meant to be a part of a larger story, but that will likely never happen. As such, I edited it to make it more of a stand-alone. Anyway, I have no idea why they're in the bath, but it seemed like the best place to have woman-folk talk. Also I don't really know why they don't get along, they just don't. Perhaps they're romantic rivals for Siegfried's attentions. :) As to the relationship between Bryn and Siegfried, I leave that to your digression__. _

_Carry on. _

* * *

><p>The fortress sat on the edge of a forest, bordered by a river on one side, the trees on the other. It was an ancient citadel, it had likely existed longer than any memory of a living person could comprehend. Only recently had it come across its new inhabitants, a collection of mercenaries, spurned soldiers, perhaps even one or two criminals.<p>

Deep within this fortress, a massive copper basin sat before a fire, providing what was the nearest thing to a proper bath that could be provided in such a place. Two women shared it now, as was the standard, saving water and labor which would likely be needed elsewhere. They had once had a great dislike for one another, and, though they still did not share any bond of friendship, they were at least now united under the common banner of the Schwarzwind. Hildegard was one, fiery-tressed and proud well-bred and well-raised; Brynja was the other, dark-headed with sophisticated, almost elfin features, but as wild as the savage north from which she came.

"What do you make of him?" Hilde questioned suddenly, her arms crossed demurely before her breasts. She had been raised a lady before she had taken up lance and sword. She was scarcely able to share a bath with Bryn or Viola without feeling rather shy.

"Whom?" Her dark-hair companion questioned, attempting to pull what had once been a braid out of her hair with a comb.

"The boy."

"Ah, yes. The Greek. I have doubts, that is for certain," Bryn answered her in a somewhat uncaring fashion, seeming more occupied with removing the knots from her sable hair. Hilde had learned painful lessons of long hair on the battle field, and had recently adopted a shorter cut for her hair. Bryn however would not be swayed, even if it would save her the chore of combing her hair daily. "I met his mother once, her sister as well, and I have crossed swords with both. I do not think he has the strength of either, but I suppose he will do."

"You are going along with Siegfried's plan then?"

"Yes. It is not so much Siegfried as it is Soul Calibur. We must have its power in our fight, and if it will not choose any of us, we must find its chosen host, and try to sway them, and fate has chosen this boy. If he does not wish to fight..." She trailed away, causing Hilde to look up at her curiously, but the other woman was intently focused on a stubborn rat in her hair, raking at it with little more gentleness than she had on the battlefield.

"Give me the comb. You are going to pull all your hair out at this rate," Hilde reprimanded, holding out a hand. Bryn gave a look which bordered upon suspicious, but surrendered the comb to Hilde's waiting palm, and turned at her gesture. Hilde pulled the dark tresses over Bryn's shoulders so that it hung down her back, brushing just below her shoulder blades, and the scar Soul Edge had marked upon her pale skin long ago. Hilde gathered Bryn's hair from the water in one hand, and began combing it out tenderly, starting at the bottom and working her way up. "What will we do if he will not fight?" She prompted what Bryn had been saying a moment ago.

"We will likely have to take a course of action I would prefer to avoid."

"You mean to kill him?" Hilde demanded, the comb slipping from her grasp and somehow tangling in Bryn's hair instead.

"Perhaps. I would hope it will not come to that, but if Soul Calibur's chosen will not fight Soul Edge, we must find a way to make it choose another, one who will help us stop Soul Edge. If that means his life is forfeit, then it must be done. We can not risk our goal for one life."

"What if it was someone you know, a friend, or an ally. Would you sacrifice them as well?"

"I do not know."

"What if it was Siegfried?"

"He would fight. Just as he is now, just as he has for the last seventeen years."

Though Hilde did not say so, she knew that Bryn's statement was true. Siegfried, if Soul Calibur had continued to obey him, would still be fighting the Azure Knight, as he had been when Hilde had first encountered he and Bryn. However, the sword seemed to have decided to move on, though no one was certain of why. Silently, Hilde pulled the comb through Bryn's hair as gently as she could, untangling the knots, the other woman equally as quiet. She turned her head, looking at Hilde over her shoulder.

"I do not betray allies, or friends, but there is more at risk now than our own lives. Just know that you will never have to face the point of my sword."

"And that is something I will always be glad for," Hilde commented, thinking she might be smiling the smallest bit; they had met in battle once before, and neither had come away from the fracas able to stand without assitance. Bryn's own lips curved slightly, before she turned her eyes forward again, closing them and leaning her head back slightly, giving Hilde the impression that she may actually be enjoying the attention to her hair. Bryn was more accustomed to battle than anything that resembled pampering, so Hilde supposed she was indulging herself.

Long ago, Bryn had faced Nightmare, who had killed her twin brother, but instead of getting her vengeance she had very nearly met her own death, the scar in the center of her back proved that. Since then, Bryn's life, as she described it, had only revolved around hunting Soul Edge and Nightmare, and someday finding a way to kill the thing that had attacked her home and murdered her twin. This was why Bryn had chosen to follow Siegfried, despite his best attempts to be rid of her, fearing her death if he allowed her to join in his battle against Nightmare. Regardless, she had followed him through all the battles, all the years, seeing her only hope in him and Soul Calibur.

And now, they were allies, friends, or perhaps, as Hilde had wondered more than once, they had even become lovers. She was often tempted to simply ask one of them, but somehow, she did not think either Bryn or Siegfried would divulge any information regarding how intimate they may be. None in the company of Schwarzwind knew the truth, only that they had scarcely been apart for the last seventeen years.

The comb now slid easily through Bryn's hair, marking an end to their short moment of companionship, Hilde passing the comb back to its owner.

"Thank you," Bryn said quietly, her fingers curling around the wooden teeth. "I...I would offer to do the same, but you do not seem to have the problem of tangles anymore."

"No, not anymore." Hilde nodded. Bryn climbed brazenly from the tub of water going cold, and Hilde instinctively lowered her eyes away from the other woman's form. It was one thing to have water hiding her, it was quite another to see her with naught but her skin. Bryn wrapped linen about her, the best substitute for towels they had in such an out of the way place and, rather to Hilde's surprise, she brought one over for her as well, handing it to her and turning her back politely.

"You need not be so shy about your body," She stated, twisting water from her hair. "We look rather the same naked. But then, I suppose you did not have to share your bath in Wolfkrone. I've seen the ruins of the castle, even now it looks expansive."

"You would think it lofty, I know. My forefathers built it long ago, and it was always being added to."

"I do not think it lofty, it was your home. It must have been beautiful, before the war."

"It was. But no longer. I shall have to rebuild it when the fighting is over." Hilde imitated the wrap Bryn had created with the sheet of linen. "I would like it if you would visit Wolkrone someday. When I have restored it."

There was a pause of silence, and for a moment, Hilde thought that her offer of friendship had fallen on deaf ears. But soon Bryn turned to her, and she bore a small smile. "I have always wanted to see the rest of the kingdom."

The women parted at the door to the bathhouse, going their separate ways and donning their armor and weapons to join their Captain. They did not know when the fighting would end, but each was comforted in the knowledge that rather than a tentative ally, they now had a friend at their side.


End file.
